1998 Year of the Ocean Coastal Tourism and Recreation 



that impair the recreational experience, or poorly designed development that causes water 

 pollution or beach erosion. 



Management of Ecotourism 



Ecotourism or nature tourism is: "Tourism that involves traveling to relatively 

 undisturbed or uncontaminated natural areas with the specific object of studying, admiring, and 

 enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural areas. "^ 

 While still relatively small, ecotourism is one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism 

 industry and presents special management challenges. 



Internationally, ecotourism is growing at a moderate rate with the financial impacts 

 greatest in rural areas near important ecotourism activities (Eagles, 1997). In 1988, international 

 ecotourists numbered 236 million worldwide, with an estimated economic impact of $233 billion 

 (U.S.) (Eagles, 1997). In 1994, the number of international ecotourists rose to 317 million with 

 direct economic impact of $250 billion (U.S.) (Ecotourism Society, 1997). 



Although specific data on coastal ecotourism are difficult to obtain, market surveys in the 

 United States show good prospects for ecotourism growth. In 1992, a U.S. Travel Data Center 

 survey indicated that 7 percent of U.S. travelers had taken at least one trip that they considered 

 ecotourism and 30 percent claimed they would take one within the next three years (Eagles, 

 1997). 



In the United States, some coastal states have begun promoting ecotourism and nature- 

 based tourism through the preparation of guides to ecotourism attractions and other publications. 

 For example, the Marine Advisory Service of the Delaware Sea Grant College Program produced 

 a guidebook to ecotourism sites in the state (Falk, Small, and Rector, 1997). In 1996, the State of 

 South Carolina, with the collaboration of the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, produced a 

 handbook entitled Guidelines and Recommendations for Nature-Based Tourism Planning and 

 Practice in South Carolina (Bacon and Kibler, 1996). Yet another example is the California 

 Coastal Conservancy, which devoted its Summer 1 997 issue of California Coast & Ocean to 

 nature tourism. 



Ecotourism in association with marine and estuarine protected areas, especially the 

 National Marine Sanctuary Program and National Estuarine Research Reserve Program, has a 

 great potential (Koss, 1995). However, for ecotourism activities to be sustainable, they must be 

 managed properly and with special care. Unless properly managed, the impacts of ecotourism 

 (for example, to remote pristine areas) may be worse than those of tourism to clearly defined and 

 confined resorts (Butler, 1993, p. 28). 



In the United States, for example, concerns have been raised about the impacts of 

 ecotourism on marine mammals, which are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. 



2 Caballos-Lascurain, 1988, as quoted in Lindberg, 1993, p. 3 



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